The public interest, and democratic political economies, both
domestic and internationally, are poison to Empire. But this must be
hidden from view, hence war propaganda/fake news is protected by
legislation, while Constitutionally-protected, evidence-based real
journalism, a dying phenomenon, continues to be attacked.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution, adopted on December 15, 1791,

"prevents the government from making laws which respect
an establishment of religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion, or
abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to
peaceably assemble, or the right to petition the government for redress
of grievances." [1]

However, the Constitution is under constant assault by US oligarch [2] ruling classes.

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Freedom of the press has been negated by ruling class monopoly
ownership and pervasive propaganda. Criminal propaganda is protected
while "freedoms of speech" are under constant assault.

The fakery of the news stories is protected by (unconstitutional)
laws embedded in the National Defense Authorization Act which blur the
lines between reality and spectacle. In an earlier article I wrote,

According to an amendment to the 2013 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Bill H.R 5736 (now law), the federal
government of the United States can now legally propagandize the
domestic public.

And, as if that isn't enough, Don North writes in "US/NATO Embrace Psy-ops and Info-War" that,

"As reflected in a recent NATO conference
in Latvia and in the Pentagon's new 'Law of War' manual, the U.S.
government has come to view the control and manipulation of information
as a 'soft power' weapon, merging psychological operations, propaganda
and public affairs under the catch phrase 'strategic communications.' "[3]

The Espionage Act [4] also contradicts the US Constitution, but it is being invoked with regard to the indictment against Julian Assange.

Ubiquitous classification of information beneath the mantle of
"National Security" serves to sustain the illusion that Empire serves
the public interest. Hence, as author and veteran journalist Naomi Wolf
asserts, whistleblowers are necessary, as is the transmission of their
leaks. This, she says, has been journalism practice for years. It is
what real journalists are supposed to do.

The Daniel Ellsbergs and Chelsea Mannings of the world are necessary
Ellsberg is now considered to be a hero. The Assanges of the world who
transmit the truth are also necessary.

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If the Espionage Act, the NDAA, and other legislation were to completely displace the U.S Constitution and its First Amendment,
then the prospect of real journalism would finally be extinguished. And
ruling classes feigning concern for the public interest would be
delighted.

In the following video, Wolf walks us through the indictment [5]
against Assange and demonstrates the paucity of evidence against him in
the government's on-going efforts to frame him and destroy the
messenger with a view to protecting the Supreme International War
Criminals currently guiding the Neo-con Imperial Shipwreck.

"Rob Kall's Bottom Up is a revaluation of values, not the empty mouthing of the word 'democracy' that is so common, but the application of belief in popular wisdom to every aspect of life. Actually believing that the views of more people is better, means a new way of thinking about the world that is democratic, feminist, localist, populist, and radically richer than the elitist perspectives that are more common even in the parts of the world that shout the word 'democracy' the most. Here we come to understand both the power of small groups and the upsides to internet crowd sourcing, the potential of nonviolent movements and ways in which the past has not been what we supposed. Don't just read this book; get lots of people to read and talk about it."

David Swanson, host, Talk Nation Radio, author of War No More: The Case for Abolition.